Tag: Compassion

Good Values Everyone Seems to Agree On

Across different faiths—or even without one—people discover that core values are often the same. Humility, honesty, compassion, justice, peace, and care for the Earth… these shared values show that goodness is bigger than labels, and living them matters more than just believing them.

Different religions have their own stories, rules, and traditions. But if you strip away the names, symbols, and debates, you’ll notice something: the core values are surprisingly the same. Different packaging, same contents.

This isn’t about replacing anyone’s beliefs—it’s about the values we all share.

🕊️ It starts with you:

• Humility – Knowing you’re not above others, and that wisdom begins with admitting what you don’t know.

• Self-Discipline – Controlling your impulses, whether through prayer, meditation, fasting, or simply saying no to harmful things.

• Gratitude – Seeing life as a gift, even on difficult days.

• Seeking Wisdom – Always learning, thinking, and growing.

• Honesty and Integrity – Truth builds trust, lies destroy it.

🕊️ Then it shapes your relationships:

• Love and Compassion – Caring for others even if they’re not “your people.” True compassion sees the person, not the label.

• The Golden Rule – Treat others the way you want to be treated. Simple, but world-changing if we all lived it.

• Forgiveness and Mercy – Letting go of grudges frees them, but it frees you even more.

• Helping Those in Need – Lifting up the poor, feeding the hungry, standing with the vulnerable.

• Respect for Life – Every life has value, human or otherwise.

🕊️ And finally, your mark on the world:

• Community and Unity – We’re stronger together, even with differences.

• Justice and Fairness – Standing for what’s right, treating people equally, choosing truth over power.

• Peace and Non-Violence – Choosing dialogue over conflict, understanding over judgment.

• Caring for the Earth – Protecting the planet that keeps us alive.

• Living for a Higher Purpose – A life not just about you, but about lifting others as well.

No matter what religion you follow—or if you don’t follow one at all—these values can bring people closer. In the end, goodness is bigger than labels… and living it is bigger than just believing it.

𝚃𝚢𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚞𝚎 • 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗆.𝗆𝗎𝗌𝗂𝖼.𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀

Word of Life • September 2025

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:6)

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:6)

Shepherds in the Ancient East used to count sheep when they returned from the pasture and were always ready to set out in search if one was missing. They would even brave the desert and the night in order to find those sheep that had gone astray.

This parable is a story of loss and finding again that clearly demonstrates the shepherd’s love for the flock. He notices that one of the sheep is missing, searches for it, finds it, and carries it on his shoulders because it is weak, frightened, perhaps wounded, and unable to follow the shepherd unaided. He brings the sheep back to safety and, finally, full of joy, invites his neighbors to celebrate together.

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.”

Three actions—getting lost, finding, and celebrating—are the recurring themes in this story.

Getting lost. The good news is that the Lord goes out to find those who are lost. We often lose the way in the various situations we encounter or in which we live or even take refuge. These may include experiences of abandonment, marginalization, poverty, misunderstanding, or disunity. They are like the desert where the path ahead is unclear. The shepherd searches for us even in these places, and although we may lose sight of him, he will always find us.

Finding. Let us try to imagine the scene of the shepherd’s frantic search in the desert. It is an image that is striking in its expressive power. We can understand the joy felt by both the shepherd and the sheep when they find one another: this encounter restores that sense of security to the sheep because it has escaped danger. Thus, the “finding” is an act of divine mercy.

Celebration. The shepherd gathers his friends together to celebrate because he wants to share his joy, just as the main character does in the other two parables that follow this one: that of the lost coin and that of the merciful father. Jesus wants us to understand the importance of sharing joy with everyone and immunizes us against the temptation to judge each other. We have all been “found again.”

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.”

This Word of Life is an invitation to be grateful for the mercy God has for us all personally. Rejoicing and celebrating together present us with an image of unity, where there is no opposition between “righteous” and “sinners,” but we share in each other’s joy.

Chiara Lubich writes, “It is an invitation to understand the heart of God and to believe in his love. We are inclined to calculate and measure, and sometimes we believe that even God’s love may grow weary… but God’s logic is not like ours. God is always waiting for us; indeed, we bring him immense joy every time—even though it be an infinite number of times that we return to him.”

“Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.”

Sometimes we can be those shepherds, those caretakers, for one another and lovingly search for those who have drifted away from us, from our friendship, or from our community. We can look out for the marginalized, the lost, the people driven to the peripheries by the trials of life.

A teacher told us, “Some pupils didn’t come to classes regularly. When I was free, I used to go to the market near the school because I hoped to see them there because I knew some of them worked there to earn money. One day I finally found them. They were amazed that I had gone to look for them personally and were struck by the fact that they were really important to the whole school community. So they started to come to school regularly and it truly was a celebration for everyone.”

Prepared by Patrizia Mazzola & the Word of Life Team

𝚃𝚢𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚞𝚎 • 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚛.𝚌𝚘𝚖